Resources

The Don't Split the Podcast Network is a network of RPG-focused podcasts (currently 7) produced by veteran podcasters Rudy Basso and James Introcaso. The production quality is some of the highest in the game podcast universe and the variety of content is expansive. The show formats and content span the interests of most gamers. The content is mostly focused on D&D 5th Edition, but other systems are featured and much of the DM advice will improve your experience in most systems. My interests in the network podcasts are limited to the news, design, and DM content, having followed all since their inception. However, I am unfamiliar with the actual play shows. (I currently only have time to listen to actual plays for which I write content). The current shows are listed here:

As a budding writer and editor for the DMsGuild, I rely on the DMs Guild Creator Resources available on DMsGuild.com. As an editor, in particular, the Style Guide Resources are essential to perform my job. If you are doing similar work and have not downloaded these resources, stop reading now and invest your time in downloading the latest version and committing it to memory. If you are like me, the last version of the “D&D Style Guide: Writing and Editing” you probably downloaded was version 1.04a (which was what was available when I checked for updates in mid-February).

DMs Guildhall is a Twitch.TV podcast about RPG design hosted by Travis Legge of Plastic Age Plays and Aegis Studios. Travis interviews community content creators for the ever-growing number of RPG system content communities. Cooperative publishing of community content has been working well for Wizards of the Coast at the DMsGuild and is becoming available for many platforms. The community of designers interviewed and systems discussed on the DMs Guildhall is growing as well.

The interview and conversation is open and casual, but Travis asks great questions and gets insightful answers from his guests. Note: As a casual discussion, there may be mature language, but Travis and guests are always respectful of their fellow designers, the RPG community, and the breadth of humanity in general.

If you are interested at all in RPG design, this is essential content. In particular, if you are new to the industry you will appreciate Travis' final question of his guest in all episodes, "What would you like to see available that, for whatever reason, you won't get around to creating it yourself?"

Setup

The BGG games pages include tons of community contributed content. Obviously, I am an avid user of the site, but have traditionally participated to a limited degree and have been remiss in tangibly thanking others for their contributions. Let’s take a quick look at the various ways you can contribute to the site information and recognize the efforts of others, using Pandemic as our example..

Setup

Some gamers have a problem with spending too much time analyzing the game state before making a move. I usually don’t suffer from this affliction (or should I say my gaming buddies don’t suffer from my affliction), but most gamers will succumb to this to some degree at some point. I usually don’t get too bothered by this. I am by nature an analytical person and can get wrapped around the axel at times when all I really needed was a quick answer. A common example is when I am working on a game design and I wonder if a particular mechanic or theme or combination of these has been used before. Am I doing something new or inadvertently rehashing something already done. I end up doing a lot of research on the subject instead of just plowing through my design iterations. Maybe I am looking for convenient distractions so I don’t have to think so hard on the design.

The Low Player Count Podcast  is mostly a discussion about games and the experience playing them at (wait for it) low player counts – solo and two players. This includes games that are specifically designed for 1-2 players, games that are listed for player count ranges that include 1 or 2 players, and games that can be scaled down with variants. While they do some reviews of games as well, their focus is more general about what makes games good and particularly what makes them good at low player counts.

Board Game Hour is a little difficult to describe within my limited categories for resources. It is a weekly meet-up on Twitter to discuss board games and board game design. The meet-up is hosted on Nurph and moderated by the Minister of Board Games himself, Nate Brett. The “Hour” of interest is every Monday at: 7pm GMT (which I mention first since the Minister is in the UK). This translates to 2pm EST, 1pm CST, 12pm MST (which works great for me so I can join on my lunch hour), and 11am PST. Note: The time gets a little wonky at the time changes since the UK observes Daylight Savings Time differently than the US.

Of the game design and development resources I have highlighted so far, this is the first that is a person rather than a brand. This is done with no intended slight to those highlighted previously; there are real people behind each one of them and in all cases a very small number of people (usually 2-4) behind each. What makes this case special is when I set out to write up this mention, I was at a loss to describe it in any way other than as Jamey himself.

The Game Design Round Table is a podcast that combines the insights of successful designers of board and video games; David Heron, Dirk Knemeyer, Rob Daviau, and Soren Johnson. They also have guests who share their expertise in many game design related topics.

The Dice Tower Network describes itself so, “The Dice Tower Network is a group of podcasts and videocasts that promotes excellence and fun in board gaming.” At the time of this writing, the network is about 25-30 associated, but independent podcasts offering audio and video entertainment related to table top games, game reviews, and game design. All of these are worth a listen to see if they suit your needs and wants, but not all are actively producing content. Several of these services will also be listed here in the Opie Games resources separately; concentrating on the ones that I find the most interesting and consistent with my needs.